Emma Ward is a visual artist working predominantly in painting who is based in Central Queensland, part of the fourth generation of her family to reside on Darumbal Country. Over the past fifteen years, Ward’s practice has traversed a range of themes across a variety of artistic genres, exploring themes of motherhood, identity, flora and fauna through portraiture and still life.

 A visual storyteller at heart, Ward combines a love of playful imagery and a belief in the profound power of the imagination with technical skill to evoke atmosphere and convey emotion in her works. Ward’s work draws the viewer in through striking colour and compositions that featuring carefully selected symbols, striking a balance between whimsy and narratives exploring identity, place and personal experiences.

 Ward has exhibited widely with recent achievements including 2024 solo exhibition, “Wild. Life” at Benevolent Living in Rockhampton and receiving a special commendation in the 2023 Bayton Award for Central Queensland artists at RMOA. Exploring the work of female artists past and present has been a recent influence on her practice and has become a great personal motivation, leading Ward to undertake a Bachelor of Fine Art and Visual Culture that she is due to complete in 2024. 

In 2025 Ward has received her first major Art prize, winning the 2025 Bayton Award, Rockhampton Museum of Art based in Queensland, Australia.